Thoughts on a 300 blackout suppressed bolt gun?

[teddy12b]

Ruger American Ranch in 300BLK with my Form 1 can.
Groups ~1.2" at 100 yards.
5 supers (factory) and then 5 subs (my reloads).

Here:

04 RAR 5Supers+3Subs.mp4

MP4 File

1drv.ms

(Apologies for the wind noise. It was a very windy day at Elwood CC)

DM me if you have questions.

That's what I'm talking about. Great video and thanks!

 

[STFU]

What load are you running for subs if you don't mind.

I'm using 220gr plated Berrys and 9.3gr of H110. Average was about 1060fps. Haven't tested it with a can because I'm still waiting. But my SD is all over the place and I'll get a random shot at like 1100fps about every 1 out of 10 shots

I get the same hot rounds periodically. Please keep in mind that I just started reloading .300BLK this year and have only loaded several hundred at this point. IOW, it is definitely a work in progress. (And I travel a lot. Sadly, I have not been to the range in over two months.)

Here is my load data:

Cartridge:	.300 BLK
Date Loaded:	4-Oct-20
Load Data Source:	Hodgdon
Bullet Brand:	Berry's
Bullet Type:	Plated Spire Point
Bullet Weight: (gr)	220 Grain
Powder:	Hodgdon H110
Powder Weight: (gr)	9.0
Primer Brand:	CCI #450
Primer Type:	Small Rifle Magnum
COL:	2.234
Speed (fps):	1076

Here is the chrono data:

Series	1​	Shots:	13​
Min	1036​	Max	1206​
Avg	1076​	S-D	45.5​
ES	170​
Series	Shot	Speed
1​	1​	1041​	ft/s
1​	2​	1107​	ft/s
1​	3​	1067​	ft/s
1​	4​	1048​	ft/s
1​	5​	1036​	ft/s
1​	6​	1087​	ft/s
1​	7​	1037​	ft/s
1​	8​	1072​	ft/s
1​	9​	1206​	ft/s
1​	10​	1095​	ft/s
1​	11​	1086​	ft/s
1​	12​	1072​	ft/s
1​	13​	1041​	ft/s

 

[STFU]

That's what I'm talking about. Great video and thanks!

 

[STFU]

BTW, this is my quietest weapon (other than my suppressed Mark IV).

 

[teddy12b]

If you take out the one 1206fps round that's not a horrible load for some backyard plinking.

 

[STFU]

If you take out the one 1206fps round that's not a horrible load for some backyard plinking.

Thx, it suits my needs for now.

 

[efd1295]

Try it with some CLAYS and a lighter bullet, you won't be disappointed. To get it quite, you need a fast burning powder. Quiet and clean burning.
I'm using 4.6 of CLAYS with a 110gr Sierra HP bullet. Gets me an average of 1072fps. Great plinking round.

 

[BryceB]

Lately I've been giving a lot of thought to a bolt action 300 blackout. The reason being I already have an SDN-6 and it would not be a big deal to screw the can on a different gun for some backyard plinking from the patio that they neighbors don't hear from their house. I would only be interested in subsonic loads, just to keep things quiet. I wouldn't mind the accuracy standard of hitting a groundhog reliably from 200 or 300 yards. I like the idea of a non-semi auto rifle just for the reduced sound.

In particular the rifles that have caught my eye are the ruger ranch and mossberg patrol, and those are strictly because they each use an AR-15 magazine so that'd be nice to not have to worry about buying additional mags. I've also considered a barrel for my encore, but I don't see those out there.

Surely I'm not the only guy who's had this thought process before, so what did you all come up with?

I’ve shot a 300 blackout suppressed once and was one of the smoothest guns so far but haven’t shot one since, wasn’t a bolt action though. The ranch sounds good for what you are looking for

 

[turnerdye1]

Try it with some CLAYS and a lighter bullet, you won't be disappointed. To get it quite, you need a fast burning powder. Quiet and clean burning.
I'm using 4.6 of CLAYS with a 110gr Sierra HP bullet. Gets me an average of 1072fps. Great plinking round.

Thats interesting... I've never heard of a 110gr subsonic round but I presume it'd work! Don't need all the gas/pressure to run a bolt gun. Makes sense just to lower the speed! I wonder how well Titegroup would work on something like this? Have any issues with stabilization or keyholing?

 

[NyleRN]

I don't load 300blk but a friend of mine did for a short while. He used trailboss powder for his subs

 

[efd1295]

Have any issues with stabilization or keyholing?

None. I've had great luck with accuracy.

I've never tried Titegroup. IMR4227 have provided good results for me in my pistol length gas guns, but Clay's works the best (quiet & consistent) in my Ruger Ranch.

 

[Hawkeye7br]

Why SRM primers instead of SR, and is your load position sensitive with only 9 grains of powder?

 

[STFU]

Hogdon Reloading Data shows SRM (I use CCI 450).

 

[STFU]

Interestingly, I also reload .44 Rem Mag and those do not use a magnum primer. Go figure...
(I know it has to do with burn rates and all...just seems counter intuitive.)

 

[turnerdye1]

I got my 30cal cal today. Hopefully on my next set of days off I can get out to the range and post a video of my 16” Ruger Ranch vs a 9.5” AR

 

[JeepHammer]

Lately I've been giving a lot of thought to a bolt action 300 blackout. The reason being I already have an SDN-6 and it would not be a big deal to screw the can on a different gun for some backyard plinking from the patio that they neighbors don't hear from their house. I would only be interested in subsonic loads, just to keep things quiet. I wouldn't mind the accuracy standard of hitting a groundhog reliably from 200 or 300 yards. I like the idea of a non-semi auto rifle just for the reduced sound.

In particular the rifles that have caught my eye are the ruger ranch and mossberg patrol, and those are strictly because they each use an AR-15 magazine so that'd be nice to not have to worry about buying additional mags. I've also considered a barrel for my encore, but I don't see those out there.

Surely I'm not the only guy who's had this thought process before, so what did you all come up with?

Having owned a .300 BO and can on the rifle, and using subsonic ammo...
And having owned the exact rifle you are talking about (mag rattling SOB),

200-300 yards is pushing it.
I *Hear* and read everyone saying that *They* shoot 1,000 yards or whatever, but I've shot a lot of subsonic, and hung around with people that shot the .300 BO sub round, and 300 yards would be the absolute limit for me, I'm an ethical hunter.

First, check energy at the target at 300 yards with subsonic, you won't be impressed.
The .300 (.308" or .310" bullet) bleeds energy like crazy when it's subsonic.

We were shooting at 3/4" plywood backboard, at 300 yards, had bullets bouncing off the backboard or sticking in the backboard depending on brand of ammo.
Just depended if the bullet hit sideways or point/tail first.
Yup, tumbling at 300 yards frequently...

At 100-150 yards it was seriously consistent.
If you had it dialed in, point of aim WAS point of impact, no question it was 'Accurate' at short range, and it was relatively quiet, more than I expected.

The rifle action was reasonably reliable, but that damned mag rattle drove me nuts.
The mag wobbled around like crazy and made all kinds of noise, produced the occasional failure to feed.
MagPul plastic mags were the way I went to reduce that issue.

Its a mass produced rifle, so the action was pretty reliable, but not smooth by any means.
The issues I had were the mags, pretty well went away when I used plastic.

Stock up on 5 or 10 round mags, that 30 round AR mag will get old quick.
Its too tall for high bench or prone, gets in the way...

Its got a 'Lawyer' trigger that took a pry bar to get it to go off.
Easy fix, almost the same as the M-77 trigger so dirt simple to fix both creep and pressure required.
Pretty good design, self squaring with the cocking piece so not much sideways grinding.

The trigger parts are case hardened, so make sure any material you take off isn't on a contact engagement surface or you will be into soft metal pretty quickly and metal smearing will be an issue.
Again, like the M-77, so no big deal.

Ruger used the same base bore & rifling depth as the 7.62x39, so it will handle the import ammo using .310" bullets.
Import ammo is often bigger than .310", so the barrel is built to handle that.
(Makes sense since they had all the rifling tools right there for mini-30 and others)

Mine shot all .308" bullets (I don't buy import ammo for my accuracy rifles) and it handled them just fine.
I figured it would be a little loose, but it didn't seem so, shot just fine.
Barrel was as good as any Ruger barrel when we gauged it and checked it with a bore scope, not 'Perfect', but WAY better than most of the junk out there.

What suppressor can are you considering?

.310" or .312" hole minimum, depending on what bullet you are shooting.
Watch the import ammo, most of it is .310" instead of .308" and doesn't get along with .310" hole cans.
I didn't learn that personally, but was there when the lesson was learned.
Shaving bullets is HARD on cans!

 

[spainy79]

I bought a non-Pmag version Ruger Ranch back in April and just got around to shooting it yesterday. The ammo I'm using is Nosler 220gr subs that refused to feed in my AR. I sold the AR rifle, kept the pistol (8.5" setup) and bought the Ruger. Someone earlier mentioned how stupid quiet this thing is and it is ridiculously quiet. The can I'm running (the only can I own) is a Sig Sauer 762SRD direct thread. I should've took a video with the phone behind the gun to get the full effect. Ignore my Mom's patio furniture. I have sighted many a gun in using this setup though.

 

[teddy12b]

Having owned a .300 BO and can on the rifle, and using subsonic ammo...
And having owned the exact rifle you are talking about (mag rattling SOB),

200-300 yards is pushing it.
I *Hear* and read everyone saying that *They* shoot 1,000 yards or whatever, but I've shot a lot of subsonic, and hung around with people that shot the .300 BO sub round, and 300 yards would be the absolute limit for me, I'm an ethical hunter.

First, check energy at the target at 300 yards with subsonic, you won't be impressed.
The .300 (.308" or .310" bullet) bleeds energy like crazy when it's subsonic.

We were shooting at 3/4" plywood backboard, at 300 yards, had bullets bouncing off the backboard or sticking in the backboard depending on brand of ammo.
Just depended if the bullet hit sideways or point/tail first.
Yup, tumbling at 300 yards frequently...

At 100-150 yards it was seriously consistent.
If you had it dialed in, point of aim WAS point of impact, no question it was 'Accurate' at short range, and it was relatively quiet, more than I expected.

The rifle action was reasonably reliable, but that damned mag rattle drove me nuts.
The mag wobbled around like crazy and made all kinds of noise, produced the occasional failure to feed.
MagPul plastic mags were the way I went to reduce that issue.

Its a mass produced rifle, so the action was pretty reliable, but not smooth by any means.
The issues I had were the mags, pretty well went away when I used plastic.

Stock up on 5 or 10 round mags, that 30 round AR mag will get old quick.
Its too tall for high bench or prone, gets in the way...

Its got a 'Lawyer' trigger that took a pry bar to get it to go off.
Easy fix, almost the same as the M-77 trigger so dirt simple to fix both creep and pressure required.
Pretty good design, self squaring with the cocking piece so not much sideways grinding.

The trigger parts are case hardened, so make sure any material you take off isn't on a contact engagement surface or you will be into soft metal pretty quickly and metal smearing will be an issue.
Again, like the M-77, so no big deal.

Ruger used the same base bore & rifling depth as the 7.62x39, so it will handle the import ammo using .310" bullets.
Import ammo is often bigger than .310", so the barrel is built to handle that.
(Makes sense since they had all the rifling tools right there for mini-30 and others)

Mine shot all .308" bullets (I don't buy import ammo for my accuracy rifles) and it handled them just fine.
I figured it would be a little loose, but it didn't seem so, shot just fine.
Barrel was as good as any Ruger barrel when we gauged it and checked it with a bore scope, not 'Perfect', but WAY better than most of the junk out there.

What suppressor can are you considering?

.310" or .312" hole minimum, depending on what bullet you are shooting.
Watch the import ammo, most of it is .310" instead of .308" and doesn't get along with .310" hole cans.
I didn't learn that personally, but was there when the lesson was learned.
Shaving bullets is HARD on cans!

That's a lot of good information and thanks for taking the time. To be clear, I'm not talking about shooting deer at 300 yards for hunting. If I was completely confident in my shot I'd take one on a groundhog, but not wild game like a deer. I know what you're saying about everyone on the internet shooting at 1,000 yards. I've seen guys dump boxes of ammo missing that targets and then get one hit at 1,000 yards and then call themselves a 1,000 yard shooter. Farthest I've shot is to a mile and neither time was a first round hit. My can is an AAC SDN-6.

 

[JeepHammer]

That's a lot of good information and thanks for taking the time. To be clear, I'm not talking about shooting deer at 300 yards for hunting. If I was completely confident in my shot I'd take one on a groundhog, but not wild game like a deer. I know what you're saying about everyone on the internet shooting at 1,000 yards. I've seen guys dump boxes of ammo missing that targets and then get one hit at 1,000 yards and then call themselves a 1,000 yard shooter. Farthest I've shot is to a mile and neither time was a first round hit. My can is an AAC SDN-6.

Spainy had the same experience as me, just whisper quiet...

One note for subsonic owners...
Forget bullet drop compensating optics.
Don't waste the money.

Subsonics, being MUCH slower than full power rounds, will NEVER follow bullet drop lines etched into the reticles.
Subs are often 1/4 to 1/3 velocity of full power rounds.

Slower means they drop more than full power rounds over the same distances.

I have enough trouble explaining this to guys complaining the bullet doesn't strike point of aim when they aren't shooting the rounds the optics were graduated for...

Subs are generally short range, so a much LESS EXPENSIVE, less complicated optic can be used.
With weaver or picatinny mounts, it's easy to swap optics when you switch from full power to subs and maintain zero.
Otherwise you will need to work up a dope card for your subs, masturbate the optic for range manually when using subs.

I was using a fixed 6x, dirt simple, but it could have been a 3x or 4x just as easily.
Its just what I had laying around here...

......

I try to follow all the rules...
Ethical hunting is one of them.
After seeing penetration results, I was doubtful, other users results may be different.

I'm over 6', so I built a high bench at my home range.
That means not a lot of rest or stand, kept getting 30 round mags into the bench top.
Gave me problems when prone too.

......

Metal mag rattle was my biggest complaint!
One of my 'Pet Peeves'.

AR mags *Seemed* like a no brainer, which is why I bought that particular rifle.
Ruger, always good, AR mags out the wazoo, I like bolt guns, marriage made in heaven as far as I was concerned!

Subsonic factory ammo fairly easily available, factory threaded muzzle,
.30 cal can on the shelf, even better!

I've never had to rethread a Ruger muzzle for a can, they have always been straight, centered and have square stop shoulders.
Used a gauge rod and the can lined up with the bore just fine, everything a go!

Hung the action/barrel between centers on the milling machine, the optics mount holes were dead centerline the action/barrel, so no machining required.
Thanks Ruger!

Grabbed mags, ammo, optics alignment tools and out to the bench, got the optics on square, bore sight was good...
Then stuck a mag in it and got down over it on the bench...
Damned 30 rounder holding things up.
Back to the house for a 10 rounder...
(Clinton ban holdover, I never throw a working mag away)

Zeroed just fine, then the "Grassy Knoll Gang" showed up (my friends) and we commenced to seeing who could hold the tightest group.
Mine liked Hornady the best, but shot well with about anything. Typical Ruger...

Screwed the can on and the point of impact moved about 1/8", which was better than most out there.
No problems, and the first round through the can I wasn't even sure it fired.
I check the barrel for a squib!
(The hole in the target should have been a clue, but sometimes I do stupid stuff)

P mags didn't want to lock into place without a little shaving (just a smidge),
MagPul worked everytime.
Plastic reduced rattle to the point my OCD wasn't screaming...

A little trigger work and it was a crap ton of fun!
Not all that practical in hindsight, but all of us got them about the same time, more friends mean more fun!

These are the kind of guys that see you holding one ragged hole group, and put one in YOUR target 3" outside your group just so you can't hang it on the wall & brag later... My buddies!

 

[JeepHammer]

I know what you're saying about everyone on the internet shooting at 1,000 yards. I've seen guys dump boxes of ammo missing that targets and then get one hit at 1,000 yards and then call themselves a 1,000 yard shooter. Farthest I've shot is to a mile and neither time was a first round hit.

EVERYONE shoots 2 miles on the internet!

I *Thought* I knew how to shoot, fair amount of hits at 250-350, before I joined the Marine Corps...
I was 17, what did I know?.

One thing about the Marines, standardized rifles & ammo!
No bullet BC, velocity, hardware changes (variables) like civilian ammo/firearms have.

I had an AR-15 as a kid, didn't like it much but I understood the bullet crossed the line of sight twice, so I scored 40/40 on silhouette targets in boot camp.

I couldn't do the math in my head, so I memorized every variable for every range.
Memory is the only thing that saved me from washing out...
(And a lot of math practice)

I graduated exactly smack in the middle of my class...
When you consider the standards the Marine Corps has, that wasn't too bad for an Indiana farm kid with no formal training before the Marines.

I wasn't good enough for shooting teams, I would up a field grunt.
16 years of sand fleas, mosquitoes, leaches, frozen/roasted, experimental vaccinations, and stationed in some of the worst crap holes the world has to offer.

I hung around armorers & precision weapons guys so much I got an armorer's rating.
Being ignorant it was the best way I could find to learn & keep up,
The DDP (Defense Department Procurement, we called them the Death and Destruction People) were all classically educated in their fields, so I picked up a lot from them on how things are *Supposed* to work, and what goes wrong.

Anyone that can keep it in the numbers at 1,000 yards has had training,

Anyone that can keep it in the X ring at 1,000 yards has had SERIOUS training, and a crap load of practice!

Unless the river floods, I have 800 yards in the back yard.
Its handy, so I still practice, but not as much as I probably should.
Getting old sucks, loss of strength means loss of control, so I'm no where near what I used to be...

Gunsmith, serious reloader, 800 in the back yard, beverage fridge next to the shooting benches, you can see why my goober friends hang around...
And it's not exactly military range rules around here, right now the range is littered with pumpkin scraps from the gardens!

Stuff we didn't sell or put up for the winter got range duty as targets.
It will probably work like fertilizer next year and I'll have to mow twice a week, but it was fun.